This invention relates to energy sensors and in particular to thermal energy sensors.
Many items are either stored or used in outdoor or field conditions. The testing of such items for weathering and other problems associated with prolonged exposure has been through the use of simulation ovens. The testing has been controlled by a single temperature location on the item.
This procedure overlooks the different effects of convection and radiation heating at various locations on the items. For an object suspended in space, there are many thermal forcing functions effecting it. These include the sun, wind, reflected solar radiation, ground radiation, as well as uneven heat losses from the object.
Frequently, one of the most important weathering factors to be considered is the one caused by temperature gradients from uneven heating. To test the useful lifetime of objects in any given location, actual field tests have been needed. New simulation ovens will permit duplication of gradient problems in any location. These ovens require the thermal pattern of the desired location.
Previous methods relied solely on the air temperature at the location. This ignores the different contributions of the thermal forcing functions noted previously.